Destined for destruction

DOTTED around in the Central American jungle lie the ruins of once bustling cities. Birds chirrup on the steps of crumbling palaces, and creepers twist around the remnants of magnificent temples. Around 1000 years ago the city of Tikal in modern-day Guatemala stood at the heart of the Maya civilisation. It had 60,000 inhabitants, an extensive trade network and a thriving artistic culture. Stretching out in all directions from Tikal, the Maya dominated the area from southern Mexico through to Honduras. They developed astronomy, hieroglyphic writing and a complex calendrical system. At the time, they were the most advanced civilisation in the world. Then, almost overnight, this sophisticated society vanished.

By the time the conquistadors arrived, in the 1540s, the cities were deserted, and the Spaniards found only primitive tribes living in thatched huts in the forest. What had happened to the people who built these magnificent cities? Scientists have ...

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